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Skadoun
The Skadoun are a nomadic race, one known better for their excellent water mages than their charity. Since their inception, the Skadoun have been wanderers, never having settled long enough to leave ruins. However, due to their singer-storyteller traditions stretching back centuries, we still have stories from their ancestors to this day. Physical Description The Skadoun are gaunt and tall, rivalling the Kiminan in average height. They weigh the least out of the four races on average, yet despite their lanky shape, they are quite resilient and often last longer when deprived of water than other races. Most of the body of a Skadoun is covered in golden-brown feathers, save for their face, forearms, hands, lower legs, and feet. The face is vulture-like, lacking feathers in favor of wrinkly skin, and other featherless regions are simply covered with gray-brown scales. They have four horns, two average-length horns coming from the top of the head and two shorter horns coming from below the ears. They have a long tail equipped with a fan of feathers at the tip as well as the base. Their wings are long and slim, comparable to those of a seabird. Some Skadoun have wattles and snoods, though these are not common features and are considered unsightly among many. Some Skadoun also display different color morphs, such as black-feather (differentiated from melanism by the normally-colored face and limbs) and barred. These are considered less unsightly, often even novel. Culture Given the Skadoun's background as desert- and savanna-wandering nomads, it is common for most familial tribes to be extremely stingy and outwardly hostile. Cynical beliefs that the world will not look out for you and you must look out for yourself before anyone else are so frequent among this race that this has become the general perception of them. Tribes will provide exclusively for themselves, usually on an individual level, and to rely on someone else or allow another to rely on oneself is considered dangerous. Skadoun tribes are typically no more than a small family, though they are often temporary as the race is not known for their loyalty. Tribes will split completely when the offspring come of age and are able to provide for themselves. Singular wanderers are extremely common among this race, and temporary "bachelor tribes" composed of short-lived alliances are not unheard of. Tribes and wanderers do not tend to set up elaborate or permanent settlements, preferring to travel light. Clothing, Weaponry & Armor Because the Skadoun are not known to stay in one place, they do not farm, and as a consequence do not have access to most plant materials for weaving garments. Animal skins are more common, though clothing more elaborate than loincloths and skirts is a rare sight. Bones are often included in headdresses and as ornamentation for clothing. Pigments are frequently used on hides to create designs, sometimes used to tell stories about oneself. Because of the lack of easily accessible plant and mineral pigments, the art of this species is characterized by animal blood reds and charcoal blacks. Weapons and armors are commonly made out of animal bone and leather, though some Skadoun wandering through areas with trees may use wood. Skadoun armor and weaponry is largely comparable to that of the Valamin, and it is often difficult to distinguish between them. However, those made by Skadoun are typically lighter and thinner for easier travel and storage. Category:Races __FORCETOC__ Category:Skadoun